Why do we have an exam if this is not a content-based course? How can an in-class exam possibly reflect what the students have learned in a course that emphasizes reflection, feedback, and revision?
The exam is a requirement of the University, not Freshman English. Instructors must conduct exams at the time and place scheduled by the University. However, that doesn’t mean that exams need be heavily weighted or that they should be massive, multiple-choice fact-regurgitation exercises. The most useful exams often ask the students to engage with a new piece of writing not heavily discussed in class beforehand and use it as a framework to connect and synthesize previous readings and developed course themes. Many Freshman English instructors develop exams that either are not significant class grades—in-class essays that ask students to reflect in some way on the readings, their essays, or engage in some revision—or are significant grades because the final exam is actually a portfolio of the student’s accumulated work.
Related Questions
- Does the course favour (in terms of essay and exam questions, the course subject matter, etc.) Law students over Social Science students (or vice versa)?
- How can the instructor help ensure that in-class discussions of service-learning help students reflect more deeply on the course content?
- How do video course students turn in homework and exam papers?
